3 Doors Down success started when a local radio station WCPR started getting many phone requests for a song called Kryptonite from a band in a neighboring town Escatawpa. From exposure and constant playing of Kryptonite on WCPR and from their it grew leading to the 4 platinum selling of their album the Better Life and top ten entries in the Billboard Charts and number 1 on numerous internet and radio station charts.

The band consists of four men from Escatawpa. Drummer now turned vocalist Brad Arnold, Todd Harrellon the bass and Matt Roberts and Chris Anderson are the band’s guitarists. All members of the band come from musical backgrounds. For Brad Arnold growing up with four sisters and two brothers gave him all the musical foundations. His brothers and sisters all took a liking of rock and that’s how Brad Arnold got started on the genre. "I kinda like everything, everything influences me everything I hear," says Arnold. Since he was a child he had been setting up pots and pans.

Harrell’s band of about four years broke up and this is when he joined up with Arnold and Roberts. The trio were met to be. Arnold was the singer and drummer of the band, a rare kind of relationship in today’s rock bands. He also wrote many of his lyrics in his high school algebra class. When the three started their first gigs they played Metallica and similar bands songs. The name “3 Doors Down” originated when the band was playing on the road. “We came out of this building, and some of the letters had fallen off the front and it said ‘Doors Down,’ " Arnold explained. "At the time there were just three of us, so we said ‘3 Doors Down.’

The band became four around two or so years ago when one of Harrell’s earlier band members was asked to join the band to strengthen the band’s music and sound. The four then recorded their debut album “The Better Life” which has since gone 4 platinum. The album is a mix of slower more melodic rock at the start and heavier towards the end, a great mix! Since the band has started touring Brad Arnold has stepped up front for the vocals and the band has recruited Richard Liles from a close by town Hattiesburg. In 1997, 3 Doors Down recorded their demo album and sold it at gigs and fans came to see them live with over 2000 for each live show. Inevitably, the band was approached by major record companies and they were signed by Republic Records.

A more depth look at their album can be seen here in my album review